A fraudster convinces an old woman michigan Exchange her life savings for gold coins. However, instead of receiving $700,000 worth of gold coins, he ended up with a pack of chocolate coins.
The incident occurred when a scammer told a 79-year-old woman from Michigan that she social Security The numbers are linked to terrorism, drug-related activity and money laundering. The scammer instructed her to withdraw $700,000 of her life savings and convert the cash into gold coins so law enforcement could track down the criminals.
The woman contacted Grand Rapids Coins on 10 Mile Road near Rockford and exchanged $700,000 for 145 one-ounce American Gold Eagle coins. However, store owner Ben Soldaat became suspicious and contacted Kent Sheriff’s office, WANE News reported.
Soldat told authorities the woman seemed confused and had no previous experience buying gold.
Officers arrived at the woman’s residence, where she was in constant contact with the scammer via phone. After talking to the investigator, who was posing as an old woman, the scammer agreed to meet near the coin shop.
Also read: Midland mass shooting suspect: 5 things to know about Texas, 1 dead, several injured
Who is Yug B. Chauhan? What charges does he face?
An undercover police officer, disguised as an older woman, awaited his arrival with a bag of chocolate coins. The officer then handed the package to Yug B. Chauhan, 20, from India.
Chauhan is said to be from illinois west michigan Get back gold coins. He faces charges of defrauding more than $100,000 and using a computer to facilitate a crime, both felonies.
He is currently detained in Kent county Jail bail was set at $100,000 and there was an ICE detainer.
Michigan woman gets refund
The woman received a $700,000 refund into her bank account. this FBI The Federal Trade Commission has warned that scammers are specifically targeting seniors, convincing them to convert their assets into cash and then exchanging the money for untraceable precious metals.
The criminals then organized couriers to meet the victims in person to collect cash or precious metals, according to government agencies. this FBI State that government officials never direct individuals to purchase gold bars or coins.
Criminals obtain victims’ personal information from the dark web, where hackers sell data stolen from government or retail databases.
